Alumni College 2015 allows grads to relive their Centre Experience

Some of the nation’s #1 happiest graduates will return to campus beginning July 23 for Alumni College, a four-day enrichment excursion offering participants the chance to reconnect to—and relive—their Centre Experience.

According to Director of Alumni Affairs Megan Milby, alumni are so excited about the all-star lineup of staff and courses for this year’s college that attendance has nearly quadrupled since its inception three years ago.

“This year we capped it at 39 students, and we are still getting requests,” she said.

With courses taught by current and emeritis professors, Milby feels the Alumni College offers a close-knit feel not unlike Centre’s undergraduate experience.

“We want this to be an intimate weekend for alumni and faculty, and one that mimics their own Centre Experience,” she said. “Our hope, too, is for the group to bond and really get to know one another.”

The course line-up includes returning favorites, such as “Walden in Thoreau’s Cabin” with Alfred P. and Katherine B. Jobson Professor of English Mark Lucas ’75 and “The Hip Shakers” with Professor of English Milton Reigelman. Stephen Rolfe Powell ’74 will also be providing a lecture and demonstration on glassblowing.

There are also new, and very relevant, courses, including “Whither (Wither?) Russia” with Professor Emeritus of History Michael Hamm and “Global Warming” with Professor Emeritus of Physics Marshall Wilt.

“A Gulliver Eye: The Houyhnhnms, the Yahoos, and Us–Part II” features the highly anticipated return of Professor Emeritus of Government Larry Matheny to the classroom. He will be revisiting the fourth book of Gulliver’s Travels, the same text he explored at last year’s Alumni College, though taking a slightly different approach this time.

“We’ll use the book as a springboard for a more general discussion on human nature: what it is, and in other words, what kind of animal or beast or angel or monster we as human beings are,” he explained.

Matheny says he’s very much looking forward to this year’s Alumni College, particularly seeing people he has not seen in 40 years. “I go back in time a little bit, and it’s a great pleasure to see these people and catch up with them.”

Alumni will stay at the A. Eugene Brockman Residential Commons and will also have a chance to explore regional dining at Shaker Village, the Bluebird Café and Jane Barleycorn’s Market and Bar. Other special events include a late night viewing of To Kill a Mockingbird.